Robin Kay Cooke

Westland, MI Area Guide

Welcome to Westland! Westland is a city of approximately 87,000 residents. It is located about 16 miles west of downtown Detroit and is in Wayne County. Westland is an excellent place to live, work and raise a family.

History

During the 1700s, Westland was inhabited by the Pottawatomi Indians, and three Algonquian tribes also used the area as hunting territory. European settlers arrived in the 1800s, and the Bucklin Township was organized here in 1827.

The Michigan Territorial Legislature divided Bucklin into Lima and Richland Townships in 1829, and due to the naming conflict under the postal laws that were in place Lima was renamed Nankin Township and Richland was renamed Peking Township, both named after cities in China. In 1918 an old flour mill here was restored by Henry Ford and was used to make stencils for Ford car parts. This historic site, known as Nankin Mills, is now a nature interpretive center and a variety of community events are held here.

The townships of Livonia, Wayne, Garden City and Inkster split off from the Nankin Township, and a large part of Nankin was annexed to build the Westland Shopping Mall during the 1960s. In response to the annexation attempts for the mall, the people of Nankin voted to change the name of their remaining township to Westland City on May 16, 1966, and Westland became the fourth largest city in Wayne County.

Parks and Recreation
Westland is home to great parks and recreational opportunities. Check out what’s going on at the Bailey Recreation Center or take in a game at the Westland Municipal Golf Course.

Melvin G. Bailey Recreation Center
The Melvin G. Bailey Recreation Center houses the Westland Parks and Recreation Department and offers 30,000 square feet of banquet rooms and smaller meeting rooms.  The banquet rooms are ideal for wedding receptions, bridal showers and graduation parties, while the smaller rooms are used for seminars, conferences and staff meetings.  The Recreation Center also offers classes like karate, gymnastics, martial arts, kickboxing, aerobics and more. The fitness center has free weights, weight machines, treadmills, ellipticals, stationary bikes and personal training.
Please click here for the Westland Park Locator http://ci.westland.mi.us/parksrecreation/parklocator.html

Westland Municipal Golf Course
This 9-hole golf course has excellent landscaping and greens and a clubhouse that is available for use. The course is family-friendly and also makes a great destination for business outings as well. Please make reservations in advance if possible.

Events
Please click here for upcoming special events in Westland

http://ci.westland.mi.us/parksrecreation/134.html